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Students of all Ages Flock to AGBU Toronto Center this Fall

No matter what their interest – history, language or science – students of all ages had something to look forward to in Toronto this November, thanks to a series of fun and educational events organized by the local AGBU Chapter.

Last month, over 200 history buffs arrived at the city’s Alex Manoogian Cultural Center for a lecture led by scholar Richard G. Hovannisian – and each left with something to add to their reading list: “Armenia Smyrna/Izmir,” the recently released conference proceedings from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). The volume, which Dr. Hovannisian edited, explores the great fire of 1922 that engulfed the Ottoman city of Smyrna (Izmir) and turned hundreds of thousands of Armenians into refugees. Dr. Hovannisian, a Professor Emeritus at UCLA, commemorated the 90th anniversary of the Smyrna Catastrophe and discussed its lasting impact on modern Armenian history.

Back by popular demand, the award-winning editor Jirair Tutunjian also spoke at the AGBU Center in November. As in previous lectures, Mr. Tutunjian explored the origins of the Armenian alphabet, this time relaying little-known stories about dozens of Armenian and English words before engaging the crowd in an interactive Q&A session.

Always ready to involve the next generation, a group of Toronto parents recently initiated the very first AGBU Kids Science Night, which brought local students together to experiment, learn and, most importantly, have fun. The event was one of the monthly gatherings that the parents are organizing to keep AGBU’s youngest members engaged and connected. To learn what those families, and the larger AGBU Toronto community, has in store for the weeks ahead, visit: www.agbutoronto.ca.